After leaving downtown San Bernardino at 7am before the heat set in, and feeling partly recovered from Sunday’s race, I was immediately forced to cross the 215 freeway. Crossing the on ramps was more than a little terrifying, since the drivers didn’t stop despite me getting a walk signal. Even still, I wasn’t the only person on foot. Older people in the neighborhood were going for a morning walk.
Walking along 5th Street (the old route 66), I could definitely sense the Latino flavour of the area: I walked past Catholic churches, panaderías, hand painted signs in building, tiled roofs. Just throw in really fast traffic and a lot of heavy trucks.
Then the neighbourhood peters out, and I came to one of the scariest places I’ve ever walked: the bridges over Lytle Creek. The crux of this hike, perhaps. The sidewalk just kind of ends, and you’re forced to either sidle on a tiny strip on concrete, or walk on the road.
I can see why locals thought this walk would be insane. I’ve felt safer when climbing mountains.
Moving west, I stopped for donuts in a shop in the city of Rialto. It was the softest, pillowiest donut I’d ever had. I learned that the owners had moved out from Long Beach oddly enough, and hinted at being Cambodian. They were a little shocked when I said I was walking to LA. “People will think you are homeless, you should get a bike instead.”
I paused and thought about how immensely fortunate I am: I have a warm bed to sleep in each night, and I don’t have to worry about my next meal. Near the creek crossing, I passed a sizeable tent city, in earshot of a very busy road. I can’t imagine how the people living there get a moment’s rest.
I was warned about the scale of homelessness in Southern California: I was told that as bad as Vancouver was (probably the largest homeless population in Canada), Seattle was worse, and California was worse than Seattle. In terms of the sheer numbers of people living in tents I saw here, it’s horrifying.
Strategies for dealing with (or hiding) homelessness are varied, but a common thing I saw was hostile architecture: places designed to make people NOT want to stay, and especially to not sleep.
Another thing that’s well known, and that I got to experience on this “hike”, is the lack of public restrooms. Very often you’ll see “restrooms for customers only”, or a code is needed to use the bathroom. I’m lucky enough to be able to afford to pay to use these facilities if I need to, (or, I don’t “look” homeless) but it really feels weird. I got dangerously close to having to go on the side of the road, and I imagine for many homeless people, it’s their only option. This isn’t unique to California by any means, but the huge homeless population really brings it to the forefront.
On a more positive note, I had a great time visiting Fontana library! The staff are great and very kind, and the building has nice clean bathrooms, a welcome respite for sure. I used to work for the public library in downtown Calgary, and quit because it had too many concerts by the circulation desk and there was a real risk of hearing loss (among other issues). But that’s a story for another time.
My last stop was a Mexican place that was checked all the right boxes: cheap, cash only, served through a window. Burrito and horchata were on point.
That’s all for now. 16km down, 78 to go.
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